Ar Dân
by daltonblainers
Summary: Kurt and Blaine separated after a difficult break up yet still remain close in contact, but how do you act like just a friend to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with... when he's not the only one in the picture?
1. Chapter 1

It was a Saturday in early May. He was lying in bed naked with chocolate and cream coloured sheets draped and tangled around his porcelain limbs. He lay smiling as he thought about what had happened the night before, how he and his boyfriend had finally made 'love' to each other, though the word 'love' probably wasn't an accurate description of how he felt at the time. He'd missed that feeling of someone else inside of him, someone else kissing him, touching him, whispering sweet nothings into his ear and making him exhale with soft noises with almost every movement – no, it wasn't love, but it was a blissful feeling to say the least.

The young man sat up in bed and allowed the golden sunlight to brighten his complexion, the warmth of the sun's rays kissing every visible part of his skin as he stretched his arms and sighed with content. It was going to be a good day; he was sure of it, not just because of the weather but because he'd awoken in a great mood and usually that was the best indication of how his day was going to be. He stood up, still naked and skin radiating a soft, healthy glow as his entire body came into view of the sun as he walked across the room to grab his silk robe from the back of the door and slid it on, fastening it up before exiting the bedroom and entering the rest of his apartment. The smell of freshly made pancakes and bacon greeted his nose as he walked, reaching the kitchen to see his boyfriend at the stove making breakfast.

"Good Morning," the porcelain man cooed, walking up to the taller man and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Oh, Kurt, I didn't realise you were up, I was just making you some pancakes."

"Mm, I know, I thought I'd come and supervise before you start a fire."

Kurt chuckled and sat himself on the couch in the room - or the living room - as he called it, even though it was an open apartment with different sections delegated to the kitchen, the dining room and the living room. The two bedrooms and bathrooms were the only places with walls within his home.

"Say uh, are you wearing clothes underneath that robe of yours?" the taller man smirked. Kurt laughed and shook his head, curling his knees up behind him to try and get comfortable without teasing in any possible way.

"Not at all…"

"I like your style, Hummel."

"Of course you would, you used to reek of Craig's List and have 'player' written all over you back in high school. I've never known someone to be so manipulative-"

"You're one to talk, considering everything I've heard about you - and you can still be a total bitch sometimes, but that's why we work so well together."

Kurt smiled at his boyfriend; their banter was certainly somewhat unexplainable and anyone who met the couple probably thought that they hated each other, which was once true. Kurt didn't really know how it had happened, how and when they became closer to each other, but it was better than insulting one another in public whenever they came in contact.

"Sebastian?" Kurt sang, giving his partner a cheeky grin as he looked over (and subtly checking him out in his outfit, skinny tie, cuff tight shirt and suit pants – clearly Sebastian would be meeting up with his parents at some point in the day.) "Can I get some strawberries with that too?"

"Did your Dad ever teach you to have manners?"

"_Please_."

"Sure thing, Princess"

_Princess - _that was certainly a name that Kurt hadn't missed Sebastian calling him back when they were rivals from different high schools; however he brushed the name off quickly – he knew that Sebastian didn't mean it, it was just a habit he'd developed out of that cocky attitude of his and the feminine image Kurt could uphold occasionally.

Kurt got off of the couch and was about to start his moisturising routine when he heard the sound of his phone vibrating on the kitchen table, inwardly, he was hoping that it was Rachel and that she'd managed to get them the backstage tickets to the revival of Rent on Broadway.

"Aren't you Mister Popular, huh? Your cell has done that at least six times since I've been awake," Sebastian murmured, his pink tongue sticking out with concentration as he continued to prepare his boyfriend's food.

Kurt's heart came to a complete halt. Six times. As much as he loved socialising, there was no way that his close friends would try to contact him at 11am on a Saturday morning six times – unless of course, it was Rachel. Then again, she'd come knocking on the apartment door if it was urgent. If anyone was going to contact him they'd usually be in touch of an afternoon, as the majority of his friends were probably still asleep or busy preparing for the day ahead. Kurt's main worry was that it was something to do with his Dad's health. He reached for the phone and inhaled sharply when he saw what he'd missed.

_**Blaine: **__Text (4)  
__**Blaine: **__Missed Call (2)._

It was exactly six times.

He swallowed inaudibly and carried his phone back to the couch, hesitant to look at what Blaine wanted. What could it have been? They weren't dating anymore, they broke up after Kurt left for New York to study at NYADA, leaving Blaine back at home in Lima. Sure, they'd seen each other since then, Blaine was also studying there and they'd fooled around together when they both felt lonely or needy – that was until Kurt called it off; it didn't feel right, especially since Blaine had broken up with him the first time. He didn't know what Blaine's feelings were and whilst he tried to work them out, he simply couldn't decode them whilst they were having intercourse out of previous feelings and for the sake of having sex. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't what Kurt wanted. However, they kept their friendship, even if it was challenging at times.

Kurt turned his phone over without checking whatever is was that Blaine wanted. Blaine knew that Sebastian was coming over this weekend and that was probably what Blaine was trying to contact Kurt about – he'd done it before. The guilt hit Kurt instantly, but it was the only way to focus properly on his time with Sebastian.

Shortly after, another text came and it forced Kurt to turn his phone onto silent mode without the annoying vibrating to disturb his morning.

Sebastian smirked as he turned with Kurt's breakfast prepared perfectly on a plate: pancakes, bacon, egg, strawberries prepared and slices in half with syrup. It smelt like utter heaven. "It's low fat pancakes before you turn into a critic, I know you'd kick my ass if it were full fat," Sebastian grinned as he placed a single plate onto the glass kitchen table with a signature wink that made Kurt swoon like a smitten school girl.

Kurt made his way over with a smile and gave his boyfriend a kiss as a thank you; in return, Sebastian looped his arms through the robe and down to Kurt's ass where he gave a gentle squeeze until he broke the kiss. "C'mon, eat up or it'll get cold and I'm not making any more-"

"Oh… aren't you staying for breakfast?"

The pale beauty pouted as he sat down, giving Sebastian his finest deep ocean blue puppy dog eyes that made everyone fall into his trap of getting what he wanted. The taller man fixed his tie and sighed, leaning down to kiss Kurt's lips once more before he started eating.

"Can't, I'm meeting the parents for brunch and then tonight-"

"You're still going out with me tonight, aren't you?" Kurt asked, giving a content moan at how delicious the food was.

"Shit... Kurt, I'm really sorry, my Mom and Dad want me to spend some time with them before they go back home- I explained that I had plans but…"

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," the younger man smiled, "I'm pretty sure that Ryan Gosling's beautiful abs will still be waiting for us next week. We can watch the movie next weekend if you want to? Then we can go out for dinner."

"Sounds great," Sebastian nodded, looking at his watch and groaning, "Look, I gotta go; I'll call you later, 'kay?" Another kiss was shared before Sebastian left the apartment, taking his night bag with him.

Kurt finished his breakfast quietly and washed up after himself (and Sebastian). He didn't touch his phone, as much as he wanted to send Sebastian a text and thank him for the delicious food and emphasize the fact that he never knew his boyfriend was even capable of turning on a stove considering he always had someone else to cook for him. He couldn't touch his phone knowing that Blaine had been in touch and was clearly up to something, and as bad as it sounded, Kurt still had feelings for his ex boyfriend, even though he didn't admit it – even to himself. The worst part was that he was unsure as to exactly what Blaine was feeling, and with the two of them seeing each other every now and again it reminded Kurt of just how in love he felt.

How was he supposed to move on if his past tried to keep up with him?

* * *

With Sebastian gone, Kurt was left to his own devices. He probably should have gotten dressed by now – a whole hour had passed already, but instead Kurt found himself curled up on the couch with the latest issue of Vogue magazine and a glass of peach flavoured water. He still hadn't checked the messages that were left on his phone, and at the back of Kurt's mind he was worrying that there'd be more than the six notifications he had when he last looked at it. As his long pale fingers went to turn the next page, there was a click from his apartment door accompanied with a buzzing noise. Instantly, Kurt blushed as he stood up, pulling his robe tightly around him and tightening the ribbon so as there was nothing on display for the postman. At least, he was hoping for the postman; he'd been waiting on the delivery of his new Marc Jacobs satchel for just over a week now and was growing impatient.

He rushed to the door and composed himself, fixing his hair as he opened it and smiled brightly, taking the package from the postman. "Oh my God, thank you so much!" he squealed.

"M'just doin' my job…"

"You keep doing your job because _you_ have just made _me_ the happiest man in New York. I can't believe it's _finally _here! Oh, I have to call Rachel!" Kurt beamed; he honestly could've kissed the postman for bringing him the package – fashion would always have a high priority in his life. "Have a nice day!"

"Uh… yeah, you too!" the middle aged man replied as he waved rather awkwardly and walked away.

Kurt stood with the door open and looked at the white vintage box with silver spiralled patterns printed onto it.

_'Marc by Marc Jacobs for Jacobs by Marc Jacobs in collaboration with Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs'._

Sheer perfection, Kurt thought – and that was only the box.

"Did you get my texts?"

Kurt's head shot up from the box with a hitch in breath at the back of his throat. _Blaine_. It was Blaine. What was he doing here? Why was he here? Not now, anything but now. Why couldn't Kurt just have a day of relaxation without any issues or having to ignore feelings that he had worked so hard on trying to numb?

"Blaine, what are you- sorry… I'm a little busy, Sebastian is-"

"Not here," Blaine finished, "I just saw him getting into a taxi outside."

Kurt couldn't help but wonder if Blaine had followed his boyfriend or whether he'd waited for him to leave. Either way, there was no way Kurt could get out of this now. He was stuck, it was official; there was no valid excuse he could use and mainly because if there was one thing in the world that he couldn't do, it was lie to Blaine Anderson. There was a rise in tension with an uncomfortable silence, Kurt licked his lips and pretended to admire the box in his arms even though he'd lost interest in it just a few moments ago, whereas Blaine tilted his head and crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. It was more than obvious that Blaine wasn't wanted there. Kurt raised his head and tried to avoid eye contact, muttering 'come in' to the curly haired being. His heart was aching, it was hurting, but it shouldn't have. Everything was fine, wasn't it? Kurt was still upset that Sebastian had to cancel their plans, it wasn't as if he was upset that Blaine had made a sudden appearance.

"How's Sebastian?" Blaine questioned flatly, sitting himself down onto one of the two couches.

Why was this always about Sebastian?

"He's good," Kurt smiled, trying to act as normal as physically possible without giving away that he was clearly uncomfortable with the given situation, "He's doing well. His parents are in town so they're gate crashing his plans until they head back to Ohio tomorrow night."

There was a slow nod from Blaine, almost as if he didn't believe a single word that Kurt had just uttered. The younger man didn't exactly hide the fact that he wasn't a fan of Kurt and Sebastian's relationship. Kurt had read and heard it all; from the way Blaine's body language was whenever he was around, to the way he spoke to either of them. An awkward silence rose again between the two friends as Blaine sat on one couch and Kurt sat directly opposite. Blaine's honey-hazel optics gazed around the room and Kurt's ocean blue ones were looking at the boy he fell in love back in High School with a numb feeling in his chest. Blaine looked exactly the same as he did back then, though he'd toned up more, he was just a little bit taller and his face was more defined with age.

No words could be spoken between them and Kurt didn't understand why. They were friends, not enemies, and contrary to popular belief Kurt and Blaine didn't hate each other. They had heated arguments every now and again; probably a lot more often than they should, but they were always resolved. The current silence didn't really have a purpose. Kurt was lost for words and any that he had thought of in his head wouldn't translate from his brain to his tongue. He was stuck, and it was only when he felt Blaine's eyes looking into his that he felt as though his heart would stop from how much pain the younger boy reflected in his gaze.

"You slept with him… didn't you?" Blaine asked with a soft crack to his vocals.

Kurt's features softened, his eyes watering with tears even though he was determined to keep himself together. He wasn't going to let Blaine see him cry. He wasn't going to let Blaine guilt trip him.

"He's my boyfriend, Blaine."

Kurt could see his friend's jaw tighten at the phrase. He watched Blaine fold his arms tightly over his chest and look down to the floor with what seemed like a sense of defeat.

"Why'd you do it?"

Blaine's voice was strong again, almost as if he was having a normal conversation but Kurt could see right through the music student's act. He could pick up on when Blaine's voice broke or shook, when it was tense, he could see the anger in the tanned boy's veins even without seeing the harsh glare that was currently aimed at the laminate floor.

"Because I-"

"Don't tell me that you love him," Blaine retorted almost instantly, looking Kurt right in the eye. "You can't tell me that you love him when the only reason he's even with you is because he knows that he can manipulate you, Kurt. He's been cheating-"

"Enough!"

Kurt Hummel had finally snapped. He could feel his heart pounding into his chest with his own anger, his face heated with a blush caused by the blood boiling within his body.

"Every time you come here it's _always_ about Sebastian, and it's _always_ the same excuse, Blaine! He _isn't_ cheating on me, he's changed since high school – you need to open your eyes! He is a _good_person. Not everyone remains an asshole when they graduate, people grow up!"

Dear God, what was he saying? There was no way Sebastian was cheating; Kurt knew that for a fact. But, why was he shouting at Blaine? Why was he so angry about this? It was because the last thing he needed right now was to feel weak, to feel as though he had to run to Blaine and cry to him; he couldn't. Not after everything they'd been through; Kurt needed to show that he was strong, that he was moving on and it would take some time to get used to, of course it would.

"My relationship with Sebastian has nothing to do with you, and you have nothing to do with me."

Silence.

Kurt waited. He waited for Blaine's reaction to what had just slipped out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that. He honestly hadn't, but their relationship had tangled and knotted over time which led to them distancing more and more from each other. Arguments formed out of nowhere and there was so much emotion between them; both good and bad. There were many cracks; broken glass that couldn't be glued together because there would always be a piece missing, no matter how hard they tried to mend everything.

"Do you want me to go?" Blaine asked. Kurt held back his tears as he nodded and curled his legs up onto the couch, eyes completely avoiding eye contact with the former lover. If Blaine didn't leave now, Kurt knew he would shatter in front of him, he knew he'd allow Blaine to see how he was feeling and no, that couldn't happen. "I'll show myself out."

Kurt froze and remained quiet as he saw from the corner of his eye that Blaine was standing up. He moved closer and placed a hand onto Kurt's shoulder before pressing a soft kiss to one of his rose tinted cheeks. Kurt inhaled shakily as Blaine pulled away and felt his heart sink deep into what he could only describe as a black hole. He felt hollow, empty, and he wanted Blaine to turn around and come back, but it was too late. The door closed, leaving the scent of Blaine's cologne floating like a ghost within the room. Blaine had only been there for less than ten minutes and he managed to break Kurt's heart repeatedly. Then there was the kiss. It was just a friendly kiss – but Kurt would've done anything to have more. He could still feel the warmth of Blaine's hand on his shoulder, the softness of his lips against his skin. He wasn't supposed to think like this, not when he was with Sebastian. The young man lay himself down on the couch and started to cry, his sobs echoing throughout the empty apartment.

When Blaine finally returned home, he did the same.

* * *

A/N: So, this is the first story I've ever published properly online and the first chapter was certainly a challenge. I'd like to thank Michelle and Beth who've been my fairy godmothers whilst writing this, seriously guys, thank you so much.


	2. Chapter 2

**9:02am – Voicemail.**  
_'Hey Kurt, it's Blaine, I'm guessing you're still asleep right now but I was wondering if you could help me with something? Wes got engaged – I know, it's crazy huh? Anyways, he's having an engagement party and I have no idea what to wear… I need your fashionista expertise. I'll call you later, bye.'_

**9:07am – Voicemail.**  
_'Sorry for calling again, it's Blaine. I'll text you with a couple of suits I've found, tell me which is best, okay?'_

The calls had nothing to do with Sebastian being there at all.

Kurt held his phone in his hands and ended the voicemail check with a tinge of sadness – the whole time Kurt thought that Blaine was coming over to cause some kind of trouble; which happened regardless. Did that make the argument Kurt's fault? Of course not, Blaine was the one who started enquiring about his sex life; Kurt simply defended himself. So why did it hurt? Why did he feel guilty? Before Blaine even stepped into the apartment Kurt was already dreading his arrival, and they hadn't even spoken at that point.

He tapped the screen and led himself to his inbox where there were indeed pictures of Blaine modelling a couple of suits that he'd had found in a few stores. It made Kurt smile; Blaine hadn't changed much at all – he still dressed the same too, and the best part was that it made life a hell of a lot easier when it came to shopping with or for him. Kurt knew his taste, which meant that he could make suggestions and use Blaine as his own personal model. He swiped the screen with a finger and scrolled up, rather impressed with Blaine's choices (all bar one – a purple suit. Blaine was going to an engagement party, not an audition for the Joker). The porcelain man looked down at his chest, his stomach, his thighs - Kurt was always slightly jealous of how perfect Blaine looked in a suit. The fact was - he didn't think Blaine realised just _how _good he looked.

Kurt continued to scroll before he came across the last image that Blaine had sent.

**(Blaine 10:28am)**  
_'This is similar to the one I wore at our Prom. I like it a lot. Let me know what you think.'_

Kurt thought that he was almost looking at the same young boy who he had taken to his first Prom at McKinley High School, even though he had double checked the picture. Blaine looked exactly the same, though in this picture his hair wasn't gelled back as much and he had some slight stubble – younger Blaine would've hated any form of facial hair.

The knot in Kurt's chest grew as he ran his finger across the screen, wanting to reach in and go back in time to that night, even despite everything that had happened: the bullying, being crowned Prom Queen and having himself humiliated in front of the entire school. Blaine had been right by his side even though he hadn't wanted to attend in the first place. He allowed himself to dance with Kurt in front of a ton of people, to help his boyfriend overcome the crippling fear and embarrassment that just suffered from – this was the boy who had once been beaten up because he was gay, because in his last school he had gone to prom with another male. This was the boy who had battled with sexuality. The boy who battled with his own father for his right to love whoever he wanted.

_Courage_.

Blaine was the most courageous boy he had ever met.

"Why do you have to pull on my heartstrings?" Kurt muttered, groaning as he started to type out a text message.

**(Kurt - 3:13pm)**  
_I didn't mean to throw you out._

**(Blaine - 3:15pm)**  
_You didn't, I asked you if you wanted me to go and you gave an honest answer._  
**  
(Kurt - 3:20pm)**  
_I'm sorry._

**(Blaine - 3:22pm)**  
_Don't be._

**(Blaine - 3:24pm)**  
_I'm sorry for upsetting you._

* * *

"I think, we should go for coffee somewhere a little on the low-key side?"

"Now why would we do that?"

Blaine looked up at his older brother and then gestured to the fact that they had a bodyguard following them at least eight paces behind to ensure that the older Anderson was protected from any fan that dared to talk to him whilst he was 'comforting' his baby brother.

"Coop, c'mon, it's not the same. You know that you have a semi-high profile—"

"_Semi?"_

"..."

"I'll have you know that when I met Sir Michael Caine he told me that he was impressed with my work," the actor scoffed, zipping up his jacket and patting his now grown up baby brother on the back. "If that isn't high profile, I don't know what is."

"Cooper, that wasn't Michael Caine, that was a comedian doing an _impersonation_ of Michael Caine, and if I remember rightly, he said that your role in Transformers Five was a-"

Cooper glared at Blaine. The younger brother took the hint and stopped talking.

The Anderson brothers decided to avoid Times Square like the plague. If anything, that was where Cooper was going to be hounded or recognized. In the end, it was decided that Blaine would go to Cooper's place to spare the humiliation of the curly haired boy revealing how crappy his apartment was compared to Cooper's swag mansion just on the outskirts of Manhattan. The taxi ride was quiet for Blaine as Cooper had to take a call from an agent who was trying to organise an audition for him to be the star of a new late night TV show. By the sounds of it, the auditions were short notice. Blaine just sat and stared out the car window, lost in his thoughts, until he heard Cooper finally tell the agent that he wasn't available today.

"Don't turn them down, you can go if you want to, I don't wanna get in your way," Blaine insisted. He meant every word too. As much as Blaine hated his brother's success sometimes, he wanted Cooper to excel in everything he did, whether it was doing a small commercial or landing a minor part in a Michael Bay movie. Cooper looked at Blaine and returned to his call, trying to sweet talk the lady on the phone, asking her to try and persuade whoever was organising the auditions to hold them back or allow him to make an appearance tomorrow as he had a previous engagement. The conversation dragged on, Blaine sat back in his seat with his arms folded, glancing out the window whilst he lost himself in his thoughts; until he heard Cooper speak.

"Look, I'm really sorry but can we just cancel the audition? I need to look after my baby brother."

The call ended immediately and Blaine sat up, looking across to Cooper with a sad smile.

"Thank you," Blaine whispered weakly, his voice sounding as though it was about to break. Cooper shook his head and opened out his arms to which Blaine shuffled across the leather seat and hugged him tightly. Blaine was twenty years old now and a sophomore in college, he was stronger than he'd ever been before, physically, and yet his brother being overly nice could make him feel just the slightest bit fragile, emotionally.

* * *

Blaine hadn't even sat down when Cooper opened his mouth and asked him to talk about what happened that morning with Kurt. Blaine didn't explain; instead he ended up giving a thirty three minute lecture to his brother on how Kurt and Sebastian's relationship won't work and the key points that he hated about it.

"Sounds like you're suffering from a little jealousy," Cooper added, swinging his legs onto the couch as he lay down with a bowl of nachos resting on his stomach.

"I am not jealous, okay? I just know that Sebastian is up to no good. I don't even know how this happened, Sebastian and Kurt used to loathe each other."

"People change, kid. I mean we used to fight a lot and now look at us. We're like Turk and JD... except we're not Doctors and we're related."

Blaine flopped into the lazy boy chair and huffed, annoyed at the thought of Kurt _sleeping_ with someone known for using boys for sex. What disappointed Blaine more was that he and Kurt waited for the right time before they decided to have that level of intimacy with one another. They were in love. Sebastian and Kurt had been together for at least four months (not that Blaine had been counting), surely four months was just a little too soon? And then there was fact that he and Kurt were together for two years or so and that didn't include the two of them fooling around and having some kind of on and off relationship. Didn't Kurt care about himself anymore?

"I can't believe that Kurt slept with him."

"And you said that you think this guy is cheating?"

"Yeah, I saw him with another guy over a week ago."

Blaine bit his inner cheek, the talking making him hungry. Blaine wasn't much of a comfort eater but the food was available for him to do that so he reached over to the bowl resting upon Cooper's stomach for a handful of nachos.

_SMACK._

"Hey!" Blaine exclaimed, holding the arm that Cooper had hit with his other hand. "Jeez, Coop, you left a mark!" Blaine wasn't kidding either, he looked at his left arm and there on his tanned skin was a slightly reddened print of Cooper's hand.

"Sorry, Blainey— lesson number one? You can't take a guy's nachos whilst he's trying to give therapy to someone." Therapy? Ha. Blaine could've laughed. How was this therapy? All it was doing was making Blaine feel worse about everything that had happened; talking about it wasn't good for him at all.

Blaine smirked to himself and moved before sitting himself on top of Cooper's legs, his hand reaching for a single nacho before eating it. "Mm, damn, that's good."

"Yeah, it's good, but it's also mine. Hands off, hobbit."

"Or what?"

The brothers smirked in unison as they knew what was coming. "Or what?" Blaine repeated, getting off of Cooper's legs and crossing his arms over, not really knowing what to expect. Cooper's eyebrows rose suspiciously. He twisted his long legs back to the front of the couch and placed the bowl of nachos onto the table, a finger pointed directly at Blaine.

"You have ten seconds," Cooper grinned.

"Before _what?"_

"Nine… eight…"

Blaine laughed, "Coop, what're you doing?"

"Seven… six… five…"

"…I'm guessing this is my cue to run or something?"

Without warning or finishing the countdown, Cooper lunged himself at Blaine and tackled him to the ground into what appeared to be a wrestling match between the two. Smaller legs flailed from underneath the taller brother as he tried to wriggle free but it was physically impossible.

"Put on a few pounds eh, Coop?"

Cooper pinned Blaine to the floor and laughed as his brother struggled to escape from underneath him. "Oh you think so? Am I heavy, huh? Well you don't wanna end up like me then, and if you eat too many nachos, you will. I'm just trying to protect you from the perils of obesity. I'm doing you a service."

"_Protect _me how? You're crushing me! That'll kill me quicker than the nachos will."

With that, Cooper grabbed the bowl of nachos from the table and remained straddled on Blaine's stomach, eating the nachos right in front of him.

"Oh come on, no, no, don't do that… that's cruel," the shorter boy whined.

"Mmm, y'know, I know why you wanted these so much. They're pretty good."

Blaine pouted and tried to wriggle again, giving up right away as his older brother weighed him down. He whined once more as he watched his brother eating above him. "Cooper, c'mon, play fair."

Cooper looked like he was in thought for a moment. He squinted and pursed his lips, looking for words to say.

_Buuuurp_.

"Oh, gross!" Blaine cackled, laughing and yet finding it rather disgusting. "Gimme a nacho, come on! And get the hell off me, I'm getting cramp."

"Say, Blaine, I got a question for you," announced Cooper, who was holding a nacho between two fingers. "Say for example, this bowl of nachos was yours and I took it from you, what would you do?"

"Uh, I'd go and get more?"

"But what if-" he ate the nacho and pointed at the bowl, "what if this was the only bowl of nachos in the world-"

"That'd never happen, though."

"Blaine!"

"Okay! Okay! Well… I don't know. I'm guessing I'd get another snack," Blaine swallowed inaudibly at the cold glare being aimed right at him. "Or, I suppose I'd chase you down and take the bowl back."

"Exactly."

Blaine looked at his brother in confusion.

"Do I need to explain? Alright… so, Kurt-," Cooper held up the bowl, "is your bowl of nachos. In this little production I'll be playing the role of Sebastian Smith-"

"Smythe."

"Whatever. My point is… you-" he pointed at Blaine, "have got to chase Sebastian down and take back your bowl of nachos."

"How the hell am I going to do that? Kurt's head over heels for him." Blaine's tone suddenly changed from one of interest to one of sheer disappointment, he hated reminding himself of how smitten Kurt was for him.

Cooper got off of his brother and sat back on the couch, taking the bowl with him, his arm curved around obove the bowl like a shielf so as Blaine couldn't get anywhere near it. "You said this guy is cheating on Kurt, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So make him find out about it."

"But, Coop… he's my friend. I can't hurt him like that, I can't watch his heart break right in front of me, no, I can't-"

"So you'd rather Sebastian used Kurt like this, is that what you're saying?"

Blaine sighed and shook his head. Touché, brother, he thought.

"What should I do?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has took the time to read this, and those who have set up alerts etc - I've been really overwhelmed with the amount of emails I've had and really, it means a lot to me. I want to thank Michelle for being an amazing Beta, Beth for being so amazing and incredibly supportive whilst I'm writing, and then to Ainjel, who is one of my best friends and someone who encourages me to write. Thank you all. Sorry this chapter is shorter than I had anticipated, I guess you'll all find out why in Chapter 4!

* * *

"Kurt..."

"Hmm?"

A pair of glistening blue optics peered up from the cup of coffee that he'd been stirring for the past five minutes, his chin glued to the knuckles of his left hand as he did so.

"I was asking about this weekend," Rachel replied, her eyebrows raising in question as she noted just how long Kurt had been stirring the coffee - of which had no sugar in and didn't even need stirring. Kurt stopped and sighed, sitting back in his seat as he placed the plastic spoon flat on top of the napkin to his right and looked at his friend who was currently giving him a look as if she was prodding him to talk. The truth was, Kurt hadn't even remembered making plans and heck; that was the last thing on his mind right now. "Did... did you forget? Kurt, we've had this date marked on our calendars since-"

Before Rachel could start babbling, he held up a long, pale finger as if telling her to stop. Instantly, like a dog being told to sit, she did - though she was just as curious, her big brown eyes looking into his, disgruntled at being stopped in mid flow.

"I haven't forgotten, no," sighed Kurt, his voice as smooth and soft as ever, but with a hint of a warning that told Rachel he wasn't in the best of moods right now. Then again, who could blame him? In the past three weeks he had hardly seen anyone. Not Blaine, nor Sebastian, and this was the first time he'd met up with Rachel too, which was unusual considering they went to the same college and had certain acting lectures with the same tutors. It was like Kurt had drifted away. Rachel gave a slight nod and smiled at her friend, glad that he hadn't forgotten about their plans at least, though it was worrying that he hadn't been returning her calls or engaging in conversation as actively as he normally would. He hadn't shared any gossip or given her any 'light' fashion tips to prevent her from dressing like what Kurt could only describe as Lizzie McGuire crossed with a Powerpuff Girl.

"Rachel Berry, you know _nothing_ about me if you think I would ever turn down seeing a production of Wicked with you."

"You've just-" the female's voice faltered, unsure of how to phrase herself without causing offense to Kurt, "you've been distant. You never return my calls, you're always 'busy', I hardly see you during class, and it's as if you're completely avoiding me. It's- not because I wore the pink and yellow color-block dress was it?" (The dress that Kurt had strictly advised her not to wear in fear of her looking like something you would find in a Dr. Seuss film).

"You mean you _actually_ bought it?"

Rachel gave a half shrug and scratched and the back of her neck nervously, Kurt simply pinched the top of his nose to try and relieve himself of any images he was having of his best friend in that hideous frock, "I don't mean to avoid you, Rachel," the young man murmured, "Honestly? I have no idea what I'm doing. I can't concentrate on my auditions, I'm failing to learn my lines, I'm having trouble sleeping, I'm worried about next year and my summer placement... I even doubt my relationship with Sebastian which has never happened before - at least not until Blaine pranced in and started acting like the Mark Darcy to my Bridget. Oh my God, that's it. That is my relationship in a nutshell; I'm torn between Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy. Then there's me, Bridget Jones."

"And how is Sebastian?" Rachel tossed back with a dull tone, ignoring the comedy reference completely. She still hadn't forgiven Sebastian for everything that had happened in the previous years that they had known him, despite the fact that the New Directions had beaten the Warblers, Rachel still wouldn't let it go, though 'for the sake of love and peace' she was quite happy to act as one of his 'neutral allies', as she phrased it.

Kurt responded to the question with a shrug and painfully dragged on the awkward conversation, explaining that he and Sebastian had spoken on the phone every night but they were both too busy to meet up. They would Skype together and text a lot but it wasn't quite the same as having your boyfriend there in person - and that was what Kurt needed right now, he needed Sebastian to be there physically. Mainly to stop his thoughts from straying to someone else. Kurt was starting to feel lonely, which was partly his own fault due to his sudden decisions to blow off any plans that he was being asked to make or ignoring phone calls that he had received from friends, unless it was Sebastian.

With a heavy sigh, he paused, took a sip of his coffee and gave a sad smile, "And then there's Blaine."

The long haired brunette didn't even have to say anything before she was getting up from her seat and leaning down to give her friend a tight hug. It was more than obvious that Kurt and Blaine still had something there, and it seemed that only Blaine was willing to act on it. Kurt, however, had decided that after the constant chasing – he wanted to move on. But, no matter how much Kurt and Blaine denied it, Rachel could see everything.

Kurt rested his head on her shoulder and inhaled the flowery and fruity scent of Rachel's perfume. He smiled. It was her scent, the one he'd gotten used to since being around her so much. To him, it was welcoming these days, whereas in High School he probably would've told her that it smelt like something his Aunt Mildred would feed to her cat.

As Rachel sat down the two friends found themselves looking into one another's eyes - almost as if they were speaking telepathically.

Kurt knew what she was looking at him for.

"I can't speak to him."

"Why not? Kurt, you and Blaine are friends-"

Instead of replying, he covertly lifted his cup of coffee to his lips and blew against the hot liquid, taking his time as he went to take a sip just so as he could avoid the conversation.

"You still love each other," Rachel cooed, her voice quiet and treating the conversation as if she's just spoken forbidden words that couldn't be uttered, "it's obvious."

"But I'm not dating Blaine, Rachel. I'm Sebastian's boyfriend. Blaine has nothing to do with the equation, he and I are just friends."

"Kurt, we both know that there's more to your friendship than that... you love him. It's not exactly difficult to see-"

"Maybe it's not difficult to see it, but it's difficult for me to let go... Okay? I have to let him go."

Rachel's mouth parted as Kurt snapped; he'd never done that before, even when they battled for solos, certain roles in class, he'd never been this bad. "Oh, Rachel, I- I am so so sorry."

"It's okay," she whispered, her eyes avoiding his with the sudden shock of her friend raising his voice to her.

"I know that you're not too fond of Sebastian, Rachel, and I know that, yes, I still have feelings for Blaine but, I need to move on - I can't let high school happen again. He's just... a chapter in my life. He's my first love, of course it's going to be difficult, and I can't stop thinking about him-" Kurt's eyes closed as he thought everything over, from the beginning of their relationship to their last moment together when they broke up. "I just need to be away from Blaine right now."

* * *

**Rachel Barbra Berry messaged you.**

Blaine looked at the tab in his internet browser with fondness as he saw his old friend's name flashing every few seconds. Without hesitation, he clicked the tab and looked at the small instant messaging box in the corner of the screen.

**Rachel Barbra Berry:  
**_Hi! How is my Tony this evening? :-)_

The dark haired boy smiled and held a hand to his lips as he laughed softly at the nickname. At this point, Blaine didn't even feel worthy to have a nickname like that - since studying at NYADA, Rachel had many leading partners who could easily beat Blaine's portrayal of the handsome Tony from West Side Story, and of course, Blaine was only a Junior back then and somewhat inexperienced in the acting forte.

**Blaine Anderson:  
**_Hey, Rachel! I'm good. Are you? I haven't heard from you in a while, actually._

**Rachel Barbra Berry:  
**_I'm great! I've just got back from watching Wicked with Kurt, we managed to get backstage passes and took a look around the set which was perfect, as I imagined. Even better than the first time Kurt and I took an unexpected visit to the stage. It was wonderful. Of course, I adored the show but I thought that Ellie Harper (Elphaba) lacked the enthusiasm that Elphaba is supposed to maintain. Even I could nail that role, in fact, whilst I was watching the only thing that was making the performance better was that I could picture myself perfectly in it._

"Oh, wow," Blaine mumbled, reading over what Rachel had to say. He wasn't quite expecting a monologue, or the next 'War and Peace' novel.

**Blaine Anderson:**  
_I'm pretty sure you could be Elphaba if you auditioned for it._

**Blaine Anderson:**  
_How was Kurt?_

**Rachel Barbra Berry:**  
Why, thank you! I knew there was always a reason why you were my favourite leading man, besides the great acting of course, but the compliments that you provide me are always heart warming and ones that certain people fail to give to me, so thank you for that!

**Rachel Barbra Berry:**  
_Kurt is okay._

'Kurt is okay'. Was that it? Blaine read over the three words as if Rachel was speaking a foreign language - there was always something more to say about him.

Before Blaine could reply, he noticed Rachel was typing once again.

**Rachel Barbra Berry:**  
_You should hang out with him! Take him out some time! With Sebastian not around I'm sure he could use company from a friend. If I take him in the day time as I'm more of an early bird and then you take him of an evening to work around your busy schedule, I'm sure we can work this out._

Blaine read every word of what Rachel was saying and figured that this would be his chance - if he got closer to Kurt, Kurt would want him back, maybe it wouldn't be the same as it was back when they were at McKinley but how different could it be? He still loved Kurt, that he knew.

**Blaine Anderson:**  
_That could work._

**Rachel Barbra Berry:**  
_Of course it will work, and it means that we have more time with Kurt, rather than him being around Sebastian constantly..._

For the first time, Blaine didn't bother reading the rest of her message. This was brilliant, in fact, no, Rachel Barbra Berry was a genius. This would be Blaine's one chance at proving to Kurt that Sebastian is cheating, and to make the entire plan more convienient, Cooper (being the talented actor that he was) managed to find out the guy that Sebastian was seeing on the side.

**Blaine Anderson:  
**_Honestly, I'm quite excited._

* * *

_"Hello?"_

_"Kurt! Hey, it's Blaine, how're you doing?"_

_"Oh, hello, stranger. I'm just watching a re-run of Project Runway... and how are you?"_

_"I'm great. Hey, uh, I was wondering... do you want to go to Jupiter's with me tomorrow night?"_

_"Jupiter's?"_

_"Yeah, uh, I know you're not fond of nightclubs but-"_

_"I'd love to."_

_"You... you would?"_

_"Why not? Sebastian is working, I don't have any plans and I haven't spoken to you for a couple of days. It'll be fun."_

_"That it will. So um... Is ten o'clock tomorrow evening okay?"_

_"That's perfect."_

_"Great... I'll see you then."_


End file.
